MONROE — On April 22, the Monroe School Board:
● Administered oath of office to board incumbents Dan Bartholf and Rich Deprez and newly elected board member Dylan McGuire.
● Elected board officers, including: Dan Bartholf as president; Teresa Keehn as vice president; Rich Deprez as treasurer; Nikki Matley as clerk; and Mary Berger as deputy clerk.
● Recognized state wrestling tournament qualifier junior Alex Witt for his appearance at state and wished him luck with his senior year in the 2019-20 athletics seasons.
● Accepted a roughly $300 donation for the installation of rain gutters on the baseball press box by Tri-State Gutters.
● Reappointed Amy Bazley as the Excellence in Education liaison.
● Appointed Nikki Matley as the CESA 2 representative.
● Received a preliminary budget update in which Business Administrator Ron Olson said it seemed likely that the state budget will allocate $200 per student of state aid, but depending on whether the aid will be given toward the revenue limit or per pupil aid, it will impact the amount the district takes in.
● Heard a presentation from Monroe High School art teacher Kathy King about the Fine Arts Festival, which began in the early 1970s, now a two-day biennial show with over 40 offerings for different media.
● Agreed to a guaranteed maximum price with CG Schmidt for the referendum project of more than $3.2 million, leaving roughly $89,000 for alternates and library furnishings, and nearly $40,000 in interest from referendum proceeds to also use.
● Approved rewiring of network cables for data at Parkside Elementary School while tiles are opened for the referendum project contracted with H&H Electric for more than $77,000. Funds from the technology budget will be allocated for the work.
● Heard a wage analysis from Olson outlining a comparison between schools similar in size or within the Badger Conference. Olson said among its peers, Monroe school district falls within the exact average for salary costs per pupil enrolled. He added that the district currently has a “more robust” health insurance plan and it has more staff per student than in other comparable districts.
● Approved a 2019-20 annual service contract with CESA 2, including more than $10,000 for the JEDI Virtual School and nearly $6,000 for services for visually impaired students.